Behind the plugin: Cards for Humanity | Figma Blog (opens in new tab)

Cards for Humanity is a Figma plugin and website that helps teams practice inclusive and accessible design through an online card game. Players combine character cards with needs, disabilities, or challenges, then discuss how to design products for that person. The Idean team found that the tool makes difficult conversations about inclusion more tangible and encourages empathy-driven design.

How the Game Works

• Players pair two card types:
  • A character card with a name, age, and personality trait.
  • A card describing a need, disability, or personal challenge.
• Clicking a card reveals written considerations to reduce assumptions about different experiences.
• Its open-ended format supports workshops, brainstorming, and informal accessibility discussions.
• The game puts people at the center of the design process rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought.

Designing an Inclusive Tool

• The team began with internal research, asking colleagues whether they would share personal traits or disabilities.
• They expanded the card content through feedback from the wider product community.
• Making the tool itself accessible proved challenging, requiring continuous listening and iteration.
• The audience became broader than expected, including lawyers, gamers, clinicians, and educators—not just designers and developers.
• This reinforced the importance of plain language, avoiding jargon, and designing for audiences beyond the expected user group.

Balancing Internal Work and Client Priorities

• Agency teams must balance billable client work with internal projects that have less obvious short-term ROI.
• Idean viewed inclusive design as directly connected to better products, stronger outcomes, and happier clients.
• Team members contributed both allocated work time and personal effort because of their commitment to the project.
• The tool became part of the agency’s client process, potentially extending its impact across the products those clients create.
• The team argues that inclusion should be understood not only as a business benefit, but also as a social responsibility.

Starting the Conversation

• Cards for Humanity is not prescriptive; simply discussing the cards can open conversations about accessibility.
• The tool helps teams move from abstract intentions to concrete questions about people’s needs.
• Its central purpose is to build empathy and make inclusive design a regular part of product development.

Teams can use the plugin or website as a practical starting point for discussing accessibility, inclusion, and the responsibility designers and developers have toward diverse users.